For many students choosing a major is very confusing and frustrating. With so many choices, which major is the right one for you?

Should you have a minor or maybe a double major? Some students feel pressured and choose a major without much thought. However, the process of choosing your major takes time and your choice should not be made without awareness and understanding.

To help you in your process of choosing a major the Advising Success Center has assembled this toolbox to help give you some direction:

4 Steps To Successfully Choosing Your Major

Step 1: Self Examination

Assess your abilities, interests, values and personality to gain an awareness of yourself that will allow you to decide what areas of study you want to pursue.

Resources

• Career Services
  Visit Career Services, located in Decker Hall 202, to measure your interests, abilities, values and personality through assessment instruments such as DISCOVER, Self Directed Search (SDS), and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Career Services also provides one-on-one appointments to interpret your assessment results as well as the Choosing a Major workshop designed for undecided students or those considering changing their major.
• StrengthsQuest
  Developed by the Gallup Organization, StrengthsQuest uses StrengthsFinder assessment to assess your innate top five talents and offers online resources to assist student in using their talents in career exploration. All students who enroll in First Year Experience Seminar will participate in StrengthsQuest and be given the opportunity to meet with a career counselor to interpret the results.
• Self Assessments
  Personally assess your goals, interests, abilities and values.

Step 2: Exploration

Gather information about majors and occupations to find which are compatible with what you gained in step one.

Resources

• Bemidji State University Catalog
  Read through the descriptions of each area of interest.
• Career Outlooks by Major
  Provided by Career Services, Career Outlooks by Major will allow you to gather information such as Major Highlights, Projected Demand, Placement, and Employers and Job Titles for each area of study at Bemidji State University.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
  Search by occupation or job title to gather information about training and qualification required to enter into a specified field.

Step 3: Focus

Focus on possible majors and careers that you have discovered during step two that are of interest to you.

Resources

• Interview Worksheet
  Use this sheet to guide you through interviews of students, faculty and/or professionals in the areas that you have identified as possible majors of study.
• Job Shadow Experience Worksheet
  Use this sheet to guide you through a valuable job shadow experience with a professional in an area a possible area of study.

Step 4: Implement

It is now time to put all the information you gathered in steps 1 through 3 together and make your decision.

Resources

• Student Data Form
  When you are ready to declare a major you will need to complete the Academic Program section of the Student Data Form and turn this form into the Records Office to process the change.
• Advisor Change Form
  You will also need to change your advisor to a faculty member from the department of your major and turn this form into the Advising Success Center.